Guard for winding machines



March 1945- c. F. FITZGERALD GUARD FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 19

ifi... v in \JQ'Q? i I Patented Mar. 6, 1945 GUARD FOR WINDING MACHINES Charles Fitzgerald, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application Feln-nary 24, 1944, Serial No. 523,680

6Clalms. (c1. 242-22) The present invention relates to safety guard devices for winding machines and is herein illus-,

trated as embodied in a bobbin winding machine of the type disclosed in UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 2,343,935, granted March 14, 1944, on an application of Paul W. Senfleben, in which a horizontal bobbin winding spindle and mandrel for supporting a series of empty bobbins are rotated and advanced step b step through a series of winding operations to fill each bobbin successively, all of the bobbins being rotated together and being projected further and further into an exposed position as the winding operations are completed.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simply constructed safety guard device for bobbin winding machines of the type above referred to which will be effected in operation and which will interfere with the control and visibility of the machine operation in the smallest possible degree. Another object is to provide a bobbin winding machine with an inexpensive guard device which will automatically prevent the machine from being left in an unguarded condition while running, as, for example, when the operator has completed his work with the machine.

With these objects in view, the invention contemplates the provision, in a bobbin winding machine having a substantially horizontal winding spindleand a starting and stopping control device for'. the spindle, of a guard hinged to the machine at a location to enable the guard to be raised for inspection of the winding spindle and to carry the center of gravity of the guard past the hinge for theguard toa stable raised position, connections being provided between the starting and stopping control device and the guard to cause the control device to stopthe spindle when the guard is moved to its-stable position. In this way, the operator of the machine is enabled to raise the guard temporarily for inspection while the machine is running. If the guard is raised to a stable position where the operator may leave the machine with the winding spindle unguarded, the machine will immediately be stopped by the connections between the starting and stopping control device and the guard. Consequently, the two conditions which are mostv likely to present possibility of injury for the operator or other persons moving about the machine are efiectively met.

While the construction and arrangement of the guard renders it particularly useful in connection with a bobbin winding machine of the type referred to, it may readily be modified to advantage within the scope of the present invention for other classes of machines having rapidly rotatin or moving parts.

/ These and other features of the invention consist of novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and will become more fully apparent, from a consideration of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a bobbin winding machine equipped with a safety guard embodying the several features of the. invention, with the guard in lowered shielding position; and

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of certain parts of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1. indicating two positions of the guard, when raisedfor inspection and replacement of the bobbins on the spindle and when moved to stable position, respectively.

The illustrated machine is arranged with a horizontal rotatable and reciprocable winding spindle I 0 having attached thereto a removable mandrel l2 for supporting a series of sewing machine bobbins in alined relation to each other. The spindle is driven by an electric motor I6 suitably connected to the spindle and to a source of electrical power, the circuit for which is controlled by a snap action switch it for starting and stopping the driving motor. To guide the thread toward the winding spindle, a number of thread tubes 20 are clamped to the machine frame and'are arranged to direct the thread from any one of a corresponding number of supply packages over one of a series of-pulleys 22 past a thread cutter 24 and upwardly to the bobbin being wound.

The machine is started with the winding spindle pressed as far as possible within a stationary cylindrical guide, 26 on the machine frame, the outer end of the winding mandrel l2 and the first bobbin of the series only being exposed at the open end of the guide 26. After the first bobbin of the series is wound with thread, the winding spindle is automatically moved lengthwise of the spindle to bring the next succeeding bobbin into winding position in the machine. After all the bobbins on the mandrel are filled with thread, the thread cutter 24 is actuated against an anvil 28 to sever the thread, and the switch I8 is shifted to break the circuit of the motor It.

For shifting the switch It, the thread cutter is connected to the lower end of a vertically sliding rod 30 supported in bearings 32 extending from the frame of the machine. The rod has a right angle bar 34 formed with a downwardly bent end disposed above the handle lever of the switch I8. Surrounding the rod 30 is a coil compression spring 36 for supporting the rod and bar 34 in raised position out of engagement with the handle lever of the switch so that theswitch may I be actuated manually in the usual way during the normal operation of the machine. As thus far described, the machine is the same as disclosed in the application above referred to.

As the winding operations of the machine progress from the first bobbin on the spindle to the final bobbin, it is apparent that the spindle projects further from the machine with each operation than while winding the preceding bobbin. Due to its relatively high speed of rotation, the spindle may entrain clothing, hair or other loosely suspended materials coming into contact with it so as to become a source of danger, particularly during the final operations where the maximum projection of the spindle occurs, unless suitably guarded from contact with such materials. However, it is desirable that the operator may be able to inspect freely the winding operations from time to time, particularly in starting and stopping the machine. For this purpose,-it

is impractical to utilize a guard of transparent material inasmuch as substances thrown off by the rotating bobbins and spindle, such as oil and wax or thread lubricant, where these materials are employed to treat the thread before winding,

will quickly accumulate and obscure the transparency of such material.

In order to protect the bobbins and winding spindle from accidental contact according to the principal feature of the present invention, the frame of the illustrated winding machine has hinged to it at 38 a semicylindrical guard 39 covering the upper half of spindle and shielding it against loosely suspended materials which otherwise might become entrained by the rotating bobbins. The hinge 38 has its axis disposed horizontally, and the arrangement of the guard is such that the semicylindrical portion may be raised substantially to the vertical position indicated in broken lines of Fig. 2 for easy inspection 7 of the winding operations. After being raised to the vertical position, due to the arrangement of the hinge 38, the guard will immediately drop to its spindle shielding position unless held by the operator. Thus, the operator may inspect the winding operations but is unable to release the guard from that position, as by leaving the machine, without having the guard returned to its shielding position. If the operator attempts to swing the guard 39 further back about its hinge the center of gravity of the guard is carried horizontally past and beyond the axis of the hinge 38, and a projecting lug 4!] on the guard, which engages the upper end of the rod 30 to depress it before the center of gravity passes the hinge, actuates the motor control switch l8 into its oii position.

Referring to Fig. 2, the center of gravity of the guard is indicated with the guard in its vertical inspection position and in a stable position, respectively, by the cross lines 42. The weight of the guard acting along vertical lines 44 and 46, passing through the center of gravity in either of the two positions referred to, necessarily causes the guard to move in a direction either to swing the guard to spindle shielding position or away from such position. Between the lines 44 and 46, the center of gravity of the guard moves past the guard hinge and, when the full-line position is reached, the guard is held stable by pressure against the upper end of rod 30 acting against the lug 40. If the operator attempts to move the guard into its stable position while the machine is running, the winding operations immediately will be stopped by actuation of switch l8, and the winding spindle will be brought to rest so that there is no danger of entrainment of adjacent loosely suspended materials. To provide a further insurance against the guard being held in stable raised position the upper end of the rod 30, as indicated by the broken lines, is preferably so located that the lug 40 engages it just before the center of gravity 42 is carried past the hinge 38. In this way the guard is kept from becoming balanced in its dead center position with its center of gravity directly above the hinge 38.

At the end of a series of winding pperations, while new bobbins are being substituted, the guard is moved to its stable position in order to facilitate placing the machine in readiness for starting a new series of winding operations. Before the new operations actually may be started, however, the guard must be returned to its shield ing position or to its manually held vertical inspection position where the motor control switch may be actuated manually to on position.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. In a bobbin winding machine, the combination with a substantially horizontal rotatable spindle for supporting a bobbin, means for driving the spindle, and a starting and stopping control device for the driving means, of a guard for the winding spindle hinged on the machine at a spindle for supporting a bobbin, means for driving the spindle, and a starting and stopping control device for the driving means, of a guard for the winding spindle hinged on the machine at 'a location to enable the guard to be raised to an unstable position for inspection of the winding spindle and its center of gravity to be carried horizontally past the hinge for the guard to a stable raised position, and a connecting rod between the starting and stopping control device and the guard arranged for actuation by the guard to cause the starting and stopping control device to stop the spindle only when the center of gravity of the guard has been moved past the guard hinge.

3. In a bobbin winding machine, the combination with a substantially horizontal rotatable spindle for supporting a bobbin, means for driving the spindle, and a starting and stopping control device for the driving means, of a guard for the winding spindle hinged on the machine at a location to enable the guard to be raised to an unstable position for inspection of the winding spindle and its center of gravity to be carried horizontally past the hinge for the guard to a stable raisedposition, a lug on the guard, and a connecting rod for acinating the starting stopping device arranged tor-actuation by the guard to cause the starting and stopping device to stop the spindle only when the center of gravity otthe guardismovedpasttheguardhinge, the lug and rod being so related that the lug engages the rod before the center of gravity oi the guard passes the hinge to prevent the guard from becoming balanced on dead center position above the hinge.

4. In a bobbin winding machine, the combination with a rotatable spindle for supporting a bobbin, a motor for driving the spindle, and' a snap control switch for the motor, oi a guard for the winding spindle hinged on the machine at. a location to enable the guard to be raised to an unstable position for inspection of the winding spindle and thereafter to be moved to cause the center of gravity of the guard to be carried horizontally past the hinge of the guard to a stable raised position, and a connecting rod disengaged from the guard in its unstable position and engaged by the guard in its stable raised position for actuating the control switch to break the motor circuit.

and

5. In a bobbin winding machine, the combination with a rotatable spindle for supporting a bobbin, a motor for driving the spindle, and a for the winding spindle hinged on the machineat a location to enable the guard to be raised to an unstable position for inspection of the winding spindle and thereafter to be moved to cause the center of gravity of the guard to be carried horizontally past the hinge of the guard to a stable raised position, a connecting rod disengaged from the guard in its unstable position and engaged by the guard in its stable raised position for actuating the control switch to break the motor circuit, and a spring for moving the connecting rod to an inoperative position to enable manual actuation of the switch while the guard is disengaged from the rod.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a rapidly moving part, means for driving the part, and a starting and stopping control device for the driving means, of a guard for covering the upper portion of the moving part hinged on the machine at a location to enable the guard to be raised to an unstable position for. 

